ggibson
Well-known member
Maybe I'm missing something, but I disagree that the Quattro shadows are worse than Merrill. From comparisons I've seen of the various DP Qs (not test charts only, but dark and light areas of real-world scenes both under and over exposed), the Quattro shadows are pretty similar to Merrill. Sigma claimed the Q had better low light performance, and I'd say Merrill output has a bit more color splotches in those dark areas, but they are close enough to be on the same level I think. Overall, from what I have seen compared of Quattro vs. Merrill, Q always has better colors whereas the M usually has a stronger micro-contrast bite to it. That is very general though, and certainly some prefer one or the other. On the whole, I think both retain a look that is completely different from Bayer. I was not disappointed by the Q look in the least when I had one, and in fact I prefer it in A/B comparisons usually (against M).
Now when it comes to the SD Q, I'd really be surprised if the output was significantly different from any of the DP Qs. The SD Q with 30/1.4 should be pretty similar to a DP2Q at f8. I'll wait to see that comparison, but now that they're shipping units out I'd expect to see one soon.
In any case, as LC posts, Sigma's major failing is SPP. I can't imagine what it'd be like editing a 400mb x3i file, yikes. Even 60MB Q raws are taxing on my brand new computer. Well, SPP 6.4 hasn't crashed on me yet at least when I've revisited my old DP2Q shots. But this step in post processing is painful enough that I've stuck with Sony cameras for now. The keeper rate can be really low, and it takes so much effort to go through your shots after the fact. Sometimes I think the SPPain is worth it though. Those shots that I NAILED with the DP2 Q are really beautiful and special.
Now when it comes to the SD Q, I'd really be surprised if the output was significantly different from any of the DP Qs. The SD Q with 30/1.4 should be pretty similar to a DP2Q at f8. I'll wait to see that comparison, but now that they're shipping units out I'd expect to see one soon.
In any case, as LC posts, Sigma's major failing is SPP. I can't imagine what it'd be like editing a 400mb x3i file, yikes. Even 60MB Q raws are taxing on my brand new computer. Well, SPP 6.4 hasn't crashed on me yet at least when I've revisited my old DP2Q shots. But this step in post processing is painful enough that I've stuck with Sony cameras for now. The keeper rate can be really low, and it takes so much effort to go through your shots after the fact. Sometimes I think the SPPain is worth it though. Those shots that I NAILED with the DP2 Q are really beautiful and special.